A box of methylcobalamin for a few dollars has a good effect on repairing nerves, and can also be used to treat these 4 common diseases

"Hello, please get me a bottle of methylcobalamin"

"Methylcobalamin? Is it vitamin B12, I'll get it for you now"

"What vitamin B12? I want methylcobalamin, not vitamins. Don't get me wrong!"

"Methylcobalamin is vitamin B12! I'm a drug seller who knows more than you. Come here, scan this code to check out..."

Are methylcobalamin and vitamin B12 really the same drug? In fact, many people have used it wrongly. Today, Xiaojiu will explain to everyone what is the difference between them.

1. What is the difference between methylcobalamin and vitamin B12?

Cobalamin is a water-soluble vitamin B mainly composed of cobalt-containing porphyrin compounds.

According to the different molecular structure, cobalamin can be subdivided into cyanocobalamin, methylcobalamin, hydroxocobalamin and adenosylcobalamin. Among cobalamin, only methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin can be directly used by the human body , and the others must be converted into methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin before they can be used by the human body.

In addition to different structures, the four cobalamines also have their own characteristics:

Cyanocobalamin, also known as vitamin B12 , is also the first cobalamin discovered.

Because vitamin B12 has no direct biological activity, it is mainly used as a prodrug in clinical practice. It is first released as hydroxocobalamin, and then converted into methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, and then participates in biochemical reactions.

The human body can store about 2-5 mg of vitamin B12, and its loss rate is about 0.1%-0.2%/day. If there is a significant vitamin B12 deficiency, it will take about 3-6 years.

Methylcobalamin is the methylation activator of endogenous coenzyme B12, which is mainly found in blood, bone marrow and other body fluids.

Methylcobalamin can be directly used by the human body without being absorbed and metabolized, and it also participates in the methyl conversion of substances in the body, and is easily transferred to the sub-microstructures of nerve cells, such as mitochondria, ribosomes, and nucleus, etc. Promotes the synthesis of proteins, lipids and nucleic acids in nerve cells.

In addition, methylcobalamin is also an important coenzyme of methionine synthase and participates in the metabolism of methionine and homocysteine.

Therefore, methylcobalamin has two major drug effects, reducing homocysteine, and reducing peripheral neuralgia. Methylcobalamin is considered one of the safest and most effective drugs in the treatment of peripheral nervous system disorders .

Methylcobalamin can be utilized by the body without being metabolized and biotransformed by the liver, so in the treatment of nervous system lesions, mecobalamin is more effective than vitamin B12 and can better improve neuronal conduction.

Second, the doses of the two are not the same. Commonly used vitamin B12 is 25-100 micrograms/day or 50-200 micrograms once every other day, while methylcobalamin is taken orally at 500 micrograms/time, 3 times a day.

The side effects of taking vitamin B12 are hypokalemia and hyperuricemia, while the side effects of taking mecobalamin are nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea and rashes.

2. A bottle of methylcobalamin for a few dollars can treat 5 kinds of diseases

In addition to treating disorders of the nervous system, mecobalamin can also be used to treat a variety of diseases including:

1. Diabetic neuropathy

Neuropathy is one of the common complications of diabetes, and the incidence of neuropathy increases with the duration of the disease. Diabetic neuropathy damages the central and peripheral nervous systems of patients, and patients experience numbness in the extremities, pain and burning sensations, and neurological symptoms such as hypoesthesia.

Methylcobalamin, as one of the important coenzymes of methionine synthase, can be directly used as a structural protein component of nerve axons in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy.

A case-control clinical study involving 100 diabetic neuropathy patients found that the overall effective rate of mecobalamin treatment can be as high as 94.2% , and it can effectively reduce the adverse reactions such as numbness, fever, spontaneous pain, difficulty in defecation and decreased sensation in patients. , to improve the patient's various functions.

2. Trigeminal neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia is a common neurological disease, and patients will experience brief and repeated severe pain in the distribution area of ​​the trigeminal nerve.

Methylcobalamin can quickly enter nerve cells, promote the synthesis of lecithin and axonal structural proteins in nerve cells, repair damaged nerve cells, improve the speed of nerve conduction, and relieve the pain of the trigeminal nerve.

Compared with carbamazepine, a commonly used drug for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, mecobalamin has a relatively moderate efficacy, a lower incidence of adverse reactions, and better compliance of patients with drugs, which has obvious advantages.

3, hyperisotypic hemicacidemia

Homocysteine ​​is one of the important intermediates in the metabolism of cysteine ​​and methionine because it is a sulfur-containing amino acid.

When the concentration of homocysteine ​​in plasma increases, it can cause vascular endothelial damage, promote platelet aggregation and low-density lipoprotein formation, and then promote the formation of atherosclerosis, causing coronary heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cerebrovascular disease. diseases and other diseases.

4. Megaloblastic anemia

The cause of megaloblastic anemia is a lack of vitamin B12 or folic acid in the body. The manufacture of red blood cells requires the participation of vitamin B12 and folic acid, of which vitamin B12 can promote the production and development of red blood cells, while folic acid plays an important role in cell growth and reproduction.

When the human body lacks vitamin B12 or folic acid, it can cause abnormal red blood cells, anemia, increase in immature cells, and decrease in white blood cells.

5. Herpes zoster treatment

In addition to treating metabolic dysfunction of peripheral nerves and autonomic nerve lesions, methylcobalamin can quickly penetrate into neuronal cells to repair nerves damaged by herpes zoster virus infection, thereby reducing neuralgia caused by herpes zoster. Effectively shorten the duration of pain and greatly reduce the risk of post-herpetic neuralgia.

Third, the correct application of methylcobalamin, these two points should be kept in mind

Although methylcobalamin is good, there are also many precautions in clinical application. Once used incorrectly, it may cause serious adverse consequences.

1. Contraindications of drug combination

When mecobalamin is combined with oral contraceptives, it will reduce the blood concentration; when mecobalamin is combined with chloramphenicol for injection, it will reduce the effect of treating anemia; When co-administered with histamine H2-receptor blockers, it reduces the absorption of mecobalamin from the gastrointestinal tract.

2. Beware of side effects

Long-term use of methylcobalamin will have certain side effects, such as intestinal reactions such as nausea, acid regurgitation, nausea, and diarrhea , as well as decreased appetite and weight loss.

For most people, the side effects of methylcobalamin are tolerable. However, if the symptoms have not improved after taking mecobalamin continuously for 1 month, it is recommended to stop the drug and actively follow the doctor's advice to adjust the drug regimen in time, so as to better relieve the condition and avoid serious adverse reactions.

In addition to drug supplementation, methylcobalamin can also be ingested through daily dietary supplements, such as pork, beef, muscle, animal liver, and kidney, fish, clams, eggs, milk, fermented bean curd, dairy products, etc. are rich in methylcobalamin. Cobalamin.

Methylcobalamin is an endogenous vitamin B12, closely related to vitamin B12, but also different. Methylcobalamin has obvious advantages in the treatment of various diseases such as nervous system diseases, diabetic neuropathy, hyperhomocysteinemia, trigeminal neuralgia, megaloblastic anemia and herpes zoster. Safe with fewer side effects.

References:

[1] Popular Science | What is methylcobalamin? What diseases can be cured? .Chinese Journal of Food and Drug Administration.2022-03-26

[2] Yao Ying. Observation on the clinical effect of methylcobalamin in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy [J]. China Practical Medicine, 2018, 13(06): 136-137. DOI: 10.14163/j.cnki.11-5547/r. 2018.06.086.

[3] Li Wenxiang. Clinical analysis of folic acid combined with mecobalamin in the treatment of hyperhomocysteinemia [J]. Electronic Journal of Cardiovascular Diseases of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, 2018,6(33):54.DOI:10.16282/j. cnki.cn11-9336/r.2018.33.040.

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